This month, Sea Turtles class have been very busy enjoying our learning! Over the last 6 weeks in Art, we have been working towards finishing our Modroc Sculptures which have been inspired by the different emotions found on the blob tree that we analysed as a class. The children had to start by selecting the emotion they wanted their Modroc sculpture to portray; with the final product being made of a metal wire being manipulated and shaped to create the wire frame that was then wrapped in masking tape before being covered in layers of Modroc, painted and glazed with PVA glue - all of the children have done a brilliant job!

In Literacy over the last three weeks, the class have been writing travel guides persuading their readers to visit lots of amazing cities around the world; we learnt lots of interesting facts about Barcelona, London, Rome, Budapest, Sydney, Dubai and many more! Our grammar focus has been on learning what relative pronouns are and how to create relative clauses with the challenge of embedding them into our sentences.

In Maths, Sea Turtles have embarked on their multiplication and division unit with a focus on multiples, factors, prime, cube and square numbers. The children have also continued to learn the importance of understanding place value and the vital role it plays when multiplying and dividing numbers by 10,100 & 1,000. Next, we will be moving on to our fractions unit where the children will need to rely on their times tables knowledge to help them solve problems. Therefore, it is important that they are continuing to practise their times tables at home.

For International Week, Sea Turtles have represented Australia and we have been learning so many fascinating facts, such as the fact that Australia is the biggest island in the world and is also a country AND the main part of an entire continent! The class are very much looking forward to making the famous Australian party food, ‘Fairy Bread’, creating some wonderful Aboriginal dot paintings and writing a poem describing different Australian landscapes.

Finally, just as a reminder to you all, it is very important that the children are reading at home and recording what they have read in their school planners under the correct week as well as learning their spellings for the week as we have a weekly test every Friday. Lastly and most importantly, wishing you all a wonderful and safe half term break!

This month the Dolphins have been very busy!

In PE, we have been practising our passing and defending skills in netball. We then learnt the different positions and how they can move in the game. Once we knew this, we could move onto playing mini-games. The children loved applying the skills to their games!

In RE, we have been learning all about Hindus and how they worship. We have learnt all about the Puja tray and what each of the artefacts are for. The children chose their own pictures of the Puja tray and then added labels with information.

In maths, the children have been consolidating their understanding of the four operations: adding, subtraction, multiplication and division. We had a lesson on BIDMAS and the children absolutely loved it! We have now moved onto our fractions block which has been tricky but rewarding to watch the progress in lessons. 

In art, we have been learning about Lowry, a famous artist from the Victorian era. We have been practicing different skills he used to create his paintings and this week we are going to be creating our own Lowry inspired art work! Some of the best pieces will be chosen to be displayed in the waiting room at Woking train station, this means friends and family can go and see our art work on display for the public to see.

In history, we have been comparing the Victorian era to our lives. The children have looked at schools and decided they did not like how the Victorian children learnt, they decided it is much nicer in 2024! The electronics we use make our learning much easier and quicker. The teachers also used to hit the children which was a real shock!

We have completed our science topic all about the circulatory system and how to keep our bodies healthy. The children really enjoyed these lessons and recalled lots of facts during our retrieval quizzes!

We would like to take this opportunity to remind you that lunches are currently free for Reception, Year 1, and Year 2 students under the government's Universal Infant Free School Meals scheme. For children in Years 3 to 6, the cost of a school lunch is £2.95 per day / £14.75 per week. We would appreciate it if you could ensure that your child has sufficient funds in their lunch account. Please can we remind parents that school dinners should be paid for in advance. Please ensure that payment for the week ahead is made by the Monday morning.

Please click here to view the menus via our school website - School Meals

If your child would like to change from a packed lunch to a school dinner or vice versa, please contact the school office to advise of the change.  Please note changes can only be made at the beginning of a term.

Please be reminded that we are a nut free school.  Please do not send your child to school with any food containing nuts, for example Nutella / nut chocolate spread, Peanut butter, Peanut chocolate bars (Snickers) or nut cereal bars etc.  If you are unsure please visit the school office to pick up a healthy lunch leaflet.

In addition to the above no extreme hairstyles are permitted including overly spiked, sculptured, shaved areas and razor lines/pictures. If in doubt, please ask before a visit to the hairdresser/barbers.  

All hair bands/ clips/ bows must be plain and in school colours only which are black, white, navy or sky blue, grey, or matching the school summer dresses.

A gentle reminder earrings are not permitted. 

Lastly, a reminder that all children in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 should only have bookbags not rucksacks in school.

If your child has recently borrowed spare clothing from school, in particular children in Reception class, year 1 and year 2 please can we ask that these are returned.  We have a washing machine onsite so you can be assured that any items returned are washed as needed.  

We are also looking for donations of spare clothing such as underwear, leggings, jogging bottoms in small sizes such as ages 4 - 8.  Please either hand into the office or to the class teacher.  Thank you for your support. 

Please see below for PE days for the Autumn Term

The children will need to wear their correct PE kit on their PE day. Correct PE kit consists of:

·        Sky blue Maybury t-shirt

·        Navy blue or black hooded jacket

·        Navy blue or black jogging bottoms

Trainers (only lace up if your child can tie their own laces please) 

If you consider that there are exceptional circumstances relating to your request, please let the school have full details. Each application for a leave of absence will be considered on a case by case basis.

Penalty Notices to Address Poor Attendance at School

A Penalty Notice may be issued as an alternative to the prosecution of a parent/carer for their child’s unauthorised absence from school (absence without the agreement of the school or not covered by a medical note) and willbe used by Surrey County Council in the following circumstances :-

1. Pupils identified by police and Attendance Advice Officers (formerly Education Welfare Officers) engaged on Truancy Patrols and who have incurred unauthorised absences.

2. Leave of absence in term time (5 days or 10 sessions or more).

• Please be aware that The Education (Pupil Registration)(England)(Amendment)  Regulations 2013, which became law on 01 September 2013 state that Headteachers may  not grant any leave of absence during term time unless there are exceptional circumstances.

• The Headteacher is also required to determine the number of school days a child can be away from school if leave is granted.

• In such cases the Headteacher/Governing Body must decide whether there are exceptional circumstances.  They may request that Surrey County Council issue Penalty Notices when the absence is not authorised.

Warnings will not be given where it can be shown that parents have been notified that such absences will not be authorised.

3. Finally, the issuing of a Penalty Notice will also be considered where it is judged that a parent is failing to ensure their child's regular school attendance.

This will be considered when a pupil has incurred 10 or more unauthorised sessions in the previous 10 school weeks, which may include a pupil arriving late after close of registration.

If you believe at any stage that your child’s absence from school may leave you liable to receive a Penalty Notice, it is extremely important that you act without delay to secure their regular attendance. 

If you have any questions or require further support to achieve an improvement in your child’s attendance, please contact your child’s school or the Attendance Advice Officer.

Penalty Notice relating to Exclusions

If a child is excluded from school, Section 103 of the Education and Inspections Act 2006 places a duty on parents/carers to ensure that their child is not in a public place without justifiable cause during school hours. 

This duty applies to the first five days of each exclusion.  Failure to do so will render the parent/carer liable to a Penalty Notice. (Alternative education provision will be made available from the sixth day of any exclusion.)

Amount Payable for a Penalty Notice and Consequences for repeat uauthorised absences

1. If you have not incurred a penalty notice relating to this child/children in a rolling 3 year period since 19 August 2024, then the penalty notice will be charged at the rate of £160.00, per parent/carer per child, if paid within 28 days. This will be reduced to £80.00 if paid within 21 days of receipt of the notice. Failure to pay the Penalty Notice will result in Surrey County Council considering legal proceedings against you in the Magistrates Court.

2. If you have incurred a penalty notice relating to this child/children since 19 August 2024, the rolling 3 year period will be activated from the date of the first penalty notice and the second penalty notice will be charged at the flat rate of £160.00, per parent/carer per child, if paid within 28 days. There will be no reduction for payment within 21 days. Failure to pay the Penalty Notice will result in Surrey County Council considering legal proceedings against you in the Magistrates Court.

3. If you have incurred 2 penalty notices relating to this child/children in the rolling 3 year period since the first penalty notice was issued, then you will NOT receive a third penalty notice – Surrey County Council will have no option but to consider a prosecution, per parent/carer per child, in the Magistrates Court under s 444 Education Act 1996.

Surrey County Council is not responsible for authorising pupil absence and therefore cannot withdraw any Penalty Notice requests without the written permission of the Headteacher.

Advice and support is available from an Attendance Advice Officer by contacting Surrey Attendance Service as follows:-

North West - Tel: 01483 518130 South West   - Tel: 01483 517179

North East - Tel: 01372 833588 South East   -       Tel: 01737 737777

Please bear in mind that all of these dates are subject to change